2006 Oscars Watch

Just in time for the Oscars.

I’ve seen most of the films nominated this year (aside of the final few categories involving the documentaries that you can hardly get locally) so most of my picks listed below are from my own personal opinion. I have to admit that some of my picks were influenced by what I have read on the net and in magazines but I’m fairly certain these choices represent the popular choice.

I really want to have “Brokeback Mountain” to win all the categories that film is nominated but I have a feeling that won’t happen this year as the other nominees in some of the categories are really hard to beat. The only sure thing that I think will happen on Oscar night would be that “King Kong” would roll over everyone in the technical categories.

The rest is still up in the air which makes this year’s Oscar something worth while to look forward to.

Nick’s Picks -
(6/3/2006 - updated with the winners list)

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Brokeback Mountain - Diana Ossana, James Schamus
Capote - Caroline Baron, William Vince, Michael Ohoven
Crash - Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman
Good Night, and Good Luck. - Grant Heslov
Munich - Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel

Nick’s pick – Brokeback Mountain - Diana Ossana, James Schamus
Winner - Crash - Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote
Terrence Howard for Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line
David Strathairn for Good Night, and Good Luck.

Nick’s pick - Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote
Winner - Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman for Transamerica
Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron for North Country
Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line

Nick’s pick - Felicity Huffman for Transamerica
Winner - Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

George Clooney for Syriana
Matt Dillon for Crash
Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal for Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt for A History of Violence

Nick’s pick - Matt Dillon for Crash
Winner - George Clooney for Syriana

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams for Junebug
Catherine Keener for Capote
Frances McDormand for North Country
Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain

Nick’s pick - Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain
Winner - Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener

Best Achievement in Directing

George Clooney for Good Night, and Good Luck.
Paul Haggis for Crash
Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller for Capote
Steven Spielberg for Munich

Nick’s pick - Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain
Winner - Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Crash - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
Good Night, and Good Luck. - George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Match Point - Woody Allen
The Squid and the Whale - Noah Baumbach
Syriana - Stephen Gaghan

Nick’s pick - Crash - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
Winner - Crash - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
Capote - Dan Futterman
The Constant Gardener - Jeffrey Caine
A History of Violence - Josh Olson
Munich - Tony Kushner, Eric Roth

Nick’s pick - Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
Winner - Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana

Best Achievement in Cinematography

Batman Begins - Wally Pfister
Brokeback Mountain - Rodrigo Prieto
Good Night, and Good Luck. - Robert Elswit
Memoirs of a Geisha - Dion Beebe
The New World - Emmanuel Lubezki

Nick’s pick - Brokeback Mountain - Rodrigo Prieto
Winner - Memoirs of a Geisha - Dion Beebe

Best Achievement in Editing

Cinderella Man - Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
The Constant Gardener - Claire Simpson
Crash - Hughes Winborne
Munich - Michael Kahn
Walk the Line - Michael McCusker

Nick’s pick - Crash - Hughes Winborne
Winner - Crash - Hughes Winborne

Best Achievement in Art Direction

Good Night, and Good Luck. - James D. Bissell, Jan Pascale
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan
King Kong - Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Simon Bright
Memoirs of a Geisha - John Myhre, Gretchen Rau
Pride & Prejudice - Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

Nick’s pick - King Kong - Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Simon Bright
Winner - Memoirs of a Geisha - John Myhre, Gretchen Rau

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Gabriella Pescucci
Memoirs of a Geisha - Colleen Atwood
Mrs. Henderson Presents - Sandy Powell
Pride & Prejudice - Jacqueline Durran
Walk the Line - Arianne Phillips

Nick’s pick - Memoirs of a Geisha - Colleen Atwood
Winner - Memoirs of a Geisha - Colleen Atwood

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

Brokeback Mountain - Gustavo Santaolalla
The Constant Gardener - Alberto Iglesias
Memoirs of a Geisha - John Williams
Munich - John Williams
Pride & Prejudice - Dario Marianelli

Nick’s pick - Munich - John Williams
Winner - Brokeback Mountain - Gustavo Santaolalla

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Hustle & Flow - Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, Paul Beauregard "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp"
Crash - Michael Becker, Kathleen York "In the Deep"
Transamerica - Dolly Parton "Travelin' Thru"

Nick’s pick - Transamerica - Dolly Parton "Travelin' Thru"
Winner - Hustle & Flow - Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, Paul Beauregard "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp"

Best Achievement in Makeup

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Howard Berger, Tami Lane
Cinderella Man - David LeRoy Anderson, Lance Anderson
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - Dave Elsey, Annette Miles

Nick’s pick - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - Dave Elsey, Annette Miles
Winner - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Howard Berger, Tami Lane

Best Achievement in Sound

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Terry Porter, Dean A. Zupancic, Tony Johnson
King Kong - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek
Memoirs of a Geisha - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline, John Pritchett
Walk the Line - Paul Massey, Doug Hemphill, Peter F. Kurland
War of the Worlds - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Ron Judkins

Nick’s pick - King Kong - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek
Winner - King Kong - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

King Kong - Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn
Memoirs of a Geisha - Wylie Stateman
War of the Worlds - Richard King

Nick’s pick - King Kong - Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn
Winner - King Kong - Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, Scott Farrar
King Kong - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor
War of the Worlds - Pablo Helman, Dennis Muren, Randy Dutra, Daniel Sudick

Nick’s pick - King Kong - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor
Winner - King Kong - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Corpse Bride - Tim Burton, Mike Johnson
Howl’s Moving Castle - Hayao Miyazaki
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Steve Box, Nick Park

Nick’s pick - Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Steve Box, Nick Park
Winner - Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Steve Box, Nick Park

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Don’t Tell - Cristina Comencini (Italy)
Joyeux Noël - Christian Carion (France)
Paradise Now - Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine)
Sophie Scholl – The Final Days - Marc Rothemund (Germany)
Tsotsi - Gavin Hood (South Africa)

Nick’s pick - Paradise Now - Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine)
Winner - Tsotsi - Gavin Hood (South Africa)

Best Documentary, Features

Darwin's Nightmare - Hubert Sauper
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room - Alex Gibney, Jason Kliot
March of the Penguins - Luc Jacquet, Yves Darondeau
Murderball - Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
Street Fight - Marshall Curry

Nick’s pick – March of the Penguins - Luc Jacquet, Yves Darondeau
Winner - March of the Penguins - Luc Jacquet, Yves Darondeau

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

God Sleeps in Rwanda - Kimberlee Acquaro, Stacy Sherman
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin - Corinne Marrinan, Eric Simonson
The Life of Kevin Carter - Dan Krauss
The Mushroom Club - Steven Okazaki

Nick’s pick – nil because I've seen none of the titles nominated
Winner - A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin - Corinne Marrinan, Eric Simonson

Best Short Film, Animated

Badgered - Sharon Colman
The Moon and the Son - John Canemaker, Peggy Stern
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello - Anthony Lucas
9 - Shane Acker
One Man Band - Mark Andrews, Andrew Jimenez

Nick’s pick – nil because I've seen none of the titles nominated
Winner - The Moon and the Son - John Canemaker, Peggy Stern

Best Short Film, Live Action

The Runaway - Ulrike Grote
Cashback - Sean Ellis, Lene Bausager
The Last Farm - Rúnar Rúnarsson, Þórir Snær Sigurjónsson
Our Time Is Up - Rob Pearlstein, Pia Clemente
Six Shooter - Martin McDonagh

Nick’s pick – nil because I've seen none of the titles nominated
Winner - Six Shooter - Martin McDonagh